


to fall a little in love with everything

by mo_olelo



Series: threaded heartstrings [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, College Students NCT, College Students NCT Dream, M/M, NCT Dream - Freeform, Red String of Fate, Soulmates, did i just combine a coffee shop and bookshop au yes i did don't come for me, jaemin works in a coffee shop, mentions of NCT Dream - Freeform, renjun is fierce, renjun works in a bookshop, renmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24900217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mo_olelo/pseuds/mo_olelo
Summary: soulmate au in which renjun works in a bookshop and tries his very best to not meet his soulmate out of principle
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Series: threaded heartstrings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1792528
Comments: 2
Kudos: 109





	to fall a little in love with everything

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this work is part of my series "threaded heartstrings" which is basically a self indulgent thread (haha thread) of soulmate one shots between nct members
> 
> this particular work is inspired by every tumblr post about loving liberally and falling a little in love with people and the world in general, i've always loved that idea and i think we should all be a little more willing to fall in love, even if it's only a little bit

Renjun hummed to himself as he thumbed through a box of new arrivals at the front desk of the bookshop and sipped a cup of hot chocolate he got from the coffee shop next door, setting aside a growing stack of books that caught his interest and pricing the others. He still had a few minutes before opening, and he wanted to get the new books out before then so he wasn’t too busy to help anyone who asked for it.

It was spring break, so there wouldn’t be as much student foot traffic as normal, but the town was lively as it greeted the warmth beginning its slow crawl back into the air, breathing life into the world where it had lain dormant during the winter months. Even Renjun’s roommate, Donghyuck, was off in Canada on an unexpected trip to meet his boyfriend Mark’s family, so Renjun had to cover all of his shifts.

This boyfriend passed Renjun’s extensive questioning, and even managed to worm his way into Renjun’s good graces, but the amount that his very existence made Donghyuck shove his shifts onto Renjun was getting old. Spring break, for example, was supposed to be split evenly between the pair, until Mark asked Donghyuck if he’d like to visit home with him over the break.

Renjun huffed as he picked up a stack of newly priced books, precariously balancing them from his outstretched arms to his chin by leaning backwards so they rested against his chest. He flitted through the aisles, tucking in the new books where they belonged and making sure the others were in their proper place as well. The last book slid into place, an old novel about a sailor who fell in love with a siren, and Renjun let his fingers linger on the spines as he made his way back to the desk, imagining he could feel the novels telling him their stories through their bound leather and engraved detailing.

The notebook they kept at the desk to jot down notes was open to the last page Donghyuck used before he left the day before, it had penciled in notes about a few sales and doodles of hearts and hands connected by lines Renjun could only assume were meant to be string. Donghyuck had only become more of a hopeless romantic after he found Mark, the supposed love of his life, the other end of his string, the winter before. Renjun gagged before turning to a fresh page to write he finished pricing and stocking the new shipment.

Renjun thought the strings were stupid.

Donghyuck told him he was clinically insane for not caring whether or not he ever found his soulmate. Mark questioned if Renjun really meant it when he claimed he’d ignore the string telling him its twin was near.

Both claims were true, Renjun saw the way everyone else tripped over themselves trying to find their ‘soulmate’ and thought it was, quite frankly, pathetic. Who was a piece of thread to tell him who to love? At times Renjun wondered what it would be like to be rid of the royal blue band around his index finger, but he never seriously entertained the idea of removing it, especially after the lecture Donghyuck gave him when he mentioned it once the year before.

Renjun didn’t think of himself as the cynic Donghyuck liked to accuse him of being. Rather, he fell a little in love with most things, so he didn’t need this string to point him any particular direction.

He fell in love with the bookshop, the way it smelled like ink and timeless stories. He fell in love with books, their titles and spines and especially their contents, each tale written onto his heart as he read. But Renjun fell in love most of all with people. He couldn’t help it, when he saw glimmers of passion or love or fire, he melted all over again, just a little.

Renjun closed the notebook after writing his update and crossed to the front of the store to unlock the door and turn over the open sign, ready to start the day. He sat back down at the desk to wait for customers and pulled out a small pocket journal almost completely full of his quick scrawl.

He kept it to remember all the things that filled his heart, pouring in descriptions of dozens of people and places and ideas and the way they made him feel. He wrote about a boy who came in the week before searching for a specific book, the seventh Orson Scott Card novel in a series of who knows how many. He spent so long waving his arms, describing the series with a brightness in his eyes, that Renjun’s chest burned, and he fell.

One page was filled about a girl who tore through the bookstore looking for the perfect gift for her bookworm roommate, armed only with the knowledge that she loved succulents. Renjun helped her find a book on gardening and fell in love with the way she tucked her hair behind her ears and ended her sentences with an upward lilt of her voice.

Renjun laughed under his breath at the memory of her, and hoped she was doing well.

People came and went throughout the day, mostly locals who liked to peruse the shops along this street when the weather was nice enough, some bought books and some didn’t. Renjun helped a boy with a forest green string around his left thumb and a lopsided grin find a foreign language to English dictionary, and fell for him when he said he didn’t care what language it was in, he was just curious of the way other people spoke.

They were stuck choosing between a forty year old French to English dictionary and a more recent Korean to English one when Renjun felt a tug on his right index finger. He frowned at the interruption and laughed when the boy decided to just get both books.

Before closing the shop Renjun wrote about dictionary boy and the purple sunset as it painted the sky outside the store windows, his thread and its attempts to get his attention fleeting and forgotten.

❀

Renjun’s string became something of a nuisance.

It refused to keep still as spring break went on, faintly buzzing for sometimes hours on end. He didn’t care so much what the movement implied, but it felt funny and grew difficult to ignore. 

On particularly cold mornings Renjun visited the neighboring coffee shop, always ordering a large hot chocolate with caramel and extra whipped cream. He loved how the cafe smelled, warm and inviting.

Spring, being young and timid, had given way to winter for the second half of the break, the cold crawling back into the air and refusing to let go. So in retaliation against the chill Renjun spent most mornings before opening in the coffee shop, perhaps it was also to flirt with the boy behind the counter, but that didn’t matter, multitasking had always been a strength of Renjun’s.

On Thursday, a half hour before opening, Renjun entered the empty coffee shop once again, disregarding the familiar buzz of his string to instead cup his gloved hands in front of his face and blow warm air in a feeble attempt to regain feeling in his nose.

The shop was small, it’s walls lined with brown brick and a few floating shelves of knick knacks the store owners and employees had collected over the years, figurines, coffee mugs, photos, and even a few old books supplied by Renjun’s grandfather filled the space.

The boy at the counter was already prepared with Renjun’s order, smiling as he handed it to Renjun with one nitrile gloved hand. His ring fluttered, but he disregarded it when his stomach flipped in tandem. 

Renjun found himself falling a little more for this barista every time they met. Today Renjun decides he loves him because of the way he smiles with almost every single one of his teeth. Yesterday he fell for the way his dark brown hair was just long enough to frame his eyes and sway when he turned his head to look at Renjun.

Renjun smiled back, reaching to take his drink with one hand and swipe his card to pay with the other. “Thanks, I guess I’m getting predictable, huh?”

“Of course,” his eyes lit up and suddenly he was all teeth, “and, just a little, you only come in on cold mornings.”

“You noticed that?”

“How could I not notice when my favorite customer comes in?”

A blush crept up Renjun’s neck and singed his ears. “My name’s Renjun,” he blurted, ears still burning as he fingered the lid of his cup with anxious fingers, gaze anywhere but on the figure in front of him. He noticed for the first time a fox figurine on one of the shelves behind the counter next to the mugs.

He could hear the smile widening on the boy’s face when he responded, “I’m Jaemin.”

Renjun nodded furiously. “I have to go to work now,” he said as he turned with eyes downcast and walked stiffly to the exit, not missing the low chuckle from Jaemin. He reached the door in record time, pushing it to leave before stopping halfway through the threshold, a chill biting his cheeks. “I work at the bookshop next door, in case you wanted to know.”

The return of the cold meant less foot traffic in the store. Renjun usually spent his hours on slow days rearranging or thumbing through books, looking for something new, but on this particular Thursday he felt too nauseous to remove himself from the desk chair. He couldn’t get Jaemin out of his head, it was so weird, his crushes almost never lasted this long. Still, he almost never interacted with them for this long or this often, normally he met them once or maybe twice in the bookstore or somewhere on campus and never saw them again. Jaemin had seen him almost every morning since break started.

He spent the rest of the day wondering how wide Jaemin’s smile could go and cursing his string for whining. Occasionally a customer came in to distract him, but even a pretty boy with a burgundy string around his middle finger couldn’t draw his thoughts away from Jaemin.

Renjun began his closing duties a few minutes before locking up, counting the cash in the register and sweeping the floor and ignoring his string. The bell above the door chimed when he was putting up the broom with his back to the visitor. “I’m sorry, but we’re actually closed right now, is there something quick I can help you with?” He wiped his hands against his pants before turning to see Jaemin.

His breath stopped short at the sight of Jaemin without an apron. He was bundled up, wearing a shy smile and a denim sherpa jacket over his black hoodie, with his hands in his pockets. “Hey, I just noticed you usually walk home, and was wondering if maybe you wanted some company?”

Time stopped. “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff and lock up really quick.” Renjun shuffled around, picking up his journal and keys with one hand and his coat with the other. He fumbled with his belongings, trying to put on his coat and forgetting he could put things down to aid the process.

Jaemin’s smile twinged with what could be fondness, and he stepped forward, offering his hands to help. “Here, let me hold those for you.” Renjun smiled in exasperated thanks as he handed over his keys and journal before shrugging on his coat, leaving his gloves in his pockets.

Settled, he held out his hand to Jaemin to take back his things. Jaemin let his left hand brush against Renjun’s, and Renjun felt electricity shoot through him. He looked down at the exchange, and choked on a gasp.

“I’ve never seen your hands before.” Renjun absentmindedly tossed his stuff onto the desk behind him to better grip Jaemin’s hand in both of his own to get a closer look at his index finger.

Jaemin allowed him to manhandle his hand. “Yeah, I have to wear gloves all the time for work, working with food.” Renjun heard the telltale signs of a widening smile from in front of him. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen yours either.”

Renjun couldn’t tear his eyes away from the shining royal blue band wrapping around Jaemin’s index finger. This must be some sort of joke, Renjun thought, Donghyuck had to be hiding behind one of the bookshelves, ready to jump out at any moment and reveal the prank. But that couldn’t be, Donghyuck was in Canada, with Mark.

He hated the strings, they were stupid. It couldn’t tell him who to love, he wouldn’t let it.

Jaemin’s voice lowered to almost a whisper, “I knew it was you, it had to be.”

When Renjun’s eyes finally found Jaemin’s, he melted. The boy in front of him was really so beautiful, shining and warm even in the low lighting of the bookshop. Something about him was so alluring, Renjun couldn’t stop himself from reasoning away his principles.

He had been ignoring the string this whole time, hadn’t he? Any credit for finding Jaemin had to belong to Renjun and Renjun alone.

He hoped his scoff sounded indignant, “So you’re the reason my stupid string won’t leave me alone? For your information, it’s been rather inconvenient, very annoying.” He let Jaemin take another step closer, lacing their fingers together softly like lovers do, and Renjun’s thread sang at the contact, he hadn’t realized their hands were still clasped between them.

A small laugh from Jaemin tickled Renjun’s nose, “You know, I hear spending enough time with your soulmate makes that annoyance stop”

Renjun pretended to cringe at the word, teasing, “I hear not being around them at all does the same thing.”

Jaemin pouted, tracing Renjun’s band with one finger. “That’s true, but not as fun.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Renjun smiled, finally leaning forward to close the distance between them, deciding to give Jaemin a chance.

❀

Donghyuck never hesitates to throw Renjun an ‘I told you so’, so smug and convinced he was right all along, declaring Renjun simply could not resist the pull of his string, and his soulmate attached to the other end of it. Renjun never hesitates to quiet him by throwing right back a punch on the arm, reminding Hyuck that he never let his string tell him what to do.

Sometimes he pouted with his face pressed to Jaemin’s stomach, mumbling that he found his love all on his own, and Jaemin would coo back at him, carding his fingers through Renjun’s hair and praising his boyfriend with affirmations that Renjun would have found him with or without their strings.

The pair took to walking the other at work, and visiting whenever they could. Renjun would leave gifts of novels and notes, Jaemin pastries and large hot chocolates with caramel and extra whipped cream. 

He still considered ridding himself of the deep blue band now that he knew who was on the other end of it, but Jaemin said he liked how it looked on his finger, and how they had a matching set, so he kept it. It ceased bothering him, no longer buzzing, save for the rare occasion he was away from Jaemin for a few days or at a time, so he didn’t mind.

Renjun kept his journal, constantly filled it with the things he loved in the world around him. However, other people didn’t catch his eye so much anymore, so instead he filled countless pages with pieces of Jaemin, new and old, that made him fall more in love with every passing day. He even considered letting Jaemin read it one day.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you very much for reading, if you want to read about other pairings please don't hesitate to ask, i really enjoy writing this concept :)
> 
> If you can, this is a link a BLM carrd, please check it out and offer help where it is needed and where you are capable:  
> [Black Lives Matter](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/)  
> Donate, Educate, Speak Out, Have the Conversation.


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